BOOKS AND BOOKMEN

Evening Star, Issue 21138, 25 June 1932, Page 19

BOOKS AND BOOKMEN

VERSES LAND FOR SALE Elm and ash and oak tree still Talk in the breeze atop the hill, But the grass is rank and the path grown drear, , And the builders’ houses come creeping near. Says the ash to the oak: “I can mind the day , , , When the cornfields stretched away and away, And the land was lonely like the sea. And the larks sang loudly over me. Says the oak to the ash: “ And I, too, mind , How the storms would come and lash men blind, And the lovers laugh and climb the stiles, And there wasn’t a house for miles and miles.” Then the elm: “Why, friend, in Turpin’s day The dark, dark horsemen lurked this way, And once in the night I heard a cry And they left at my feet a man to die. . . .” Then the oak again: “It’s over now; The builders’ paths will climb the brow, Their bricks will cover our years with shame, And we, the fighters of storms, grow tame.” And the ash: “The larks will leave the hill And nevermore the Hunt shall kill By Dead Man’s covert, and nevermore The wind to us as the waves the shore. ...” And the elm: “They’ll chatter and take their tea And roll their lawn in the shade of me, And children and dogs will come and play. ...” The ash: “If only they let us stay!” Elm and ash and oak tree still, Talk in the breeze atop the hill, But the grass is rank and , the path grown drear, And the builders’ -houses come creeping near. •—Trevor Allen, in ‘ John o’ London’s Weekly.’ PITY ALL THE SLEEPING POOR Pity all the sleeping poor as they lie upon Pallets rude and 'iron bench, waiting for the dawn; Dawn that comes and shows each face, a pallid, weary thing; Dawn that brings another day of pain and hungering; Dawn that sweep with silver broom the black night from the sky, Brings no joy to those who wake, and daily, hourly, die. . . . Poverty that kills the soul; hopes that, slowly fled Into the limbo of their dreams, mingle with the dead; Living out their emptiness, cogs within a plan. Apathetic, worn and spent, woman, child, and man; Pity all the sleeping poor, who do not ' feel the spring, To whom the dawn brings only day and dull remembering! —Eleanor Allen, in the ‘ Miraculous Medal ’ (Camden). A SOCIALIST NOVELIST Mr Upton Sinclair, who is now in his fifty-fourth year, has written a book of reminiscences, ‘ American Outpost,’ which deals with the first thirty-five rears of his life. It is an interesting fact that his literary reputation stands higher in foreign countries than in bis native land of America. When he was nominated a few mouths ago for the ■S’obe! Prize for literature, which is awarded each year by the Swedish Academy, his nomination was supported by 770 prominent men and women, representing fifty-five different nations. Mr Floyd Dell, in his biographical study of his friend Upton Sinclair, writes: “Americans generally are truly surprised and puzzled by Upton Sinclair’s fame abroad —by the fact that lie seems to be regarded throughout the world as his country’s most distinguished literary figure. . . . So great is the discrepancy' between his position in the world at largo and his position in his own country, that a book about him may as well begin by offering some explanation to bewildered American readers of his world fame. “ The gist of the matter seems to lie in this. Modern industrial America is a new portent in an old world; and the world has looked to American literature for realistic description and intellectual interpretation of it —and has found these things chiefly and best in the writings of Upton Sinclair. Other American writers of our time may be more acute psychologists, wiser in tiie lore of human nature, more able to analyse and dramatise the traditional passions of mankind. But in our American literature generally there is no such account—at once emotionally and objectively convincing—of •what America is in its most characteristic contemporary aspects as may be found in the novels and paniphlets of Upton Sinclair. And this very simply explains the fact of Sinclair’s special eminence in the eyes of the world among American writers of this period.” Upton Sinclair began his literary career before he was out of his teens, and after experiencing many disappointments and severe poverty lie achieved world-wide fame in 1906, at the ago of twenty-seven, with the publication of ins fourth novel, ‘ The Jungle.’ In this book he dealt with a group of immigrants living and working in the stockyards district of Chicago. He had spent seven weeks in Chicago in order to get his material. He depicts the struggle of these immigrants to become acclimatised, to make comfortable homes and bring up their children decently. He portrays them as the slaves of capitalism, brutally exploited, proved upon, robbed by the unscrupulous forces which find in their poverty and ignorance and

A LITERARY CORNER

helplessness opportunities for enrichment. The group is crushed one by one in the struggle; the old men are thrown on the scrap heap to starve, the women take to the streets, and the children die. The moral of the story is that the only escape from the horrons depicted lies in the reconstruction of civilisation on the basis of socialism, “ At every point,” states Mr Floyd Dell, “ the story is enriched by the most vivid and relentless realistic detail ; one is immersed in the filth and stench and cruelty of the stockyards.” It was not the literary qualities of the book, nor sympathy for these unhappy immigrants, which gave it world-wide fame, but the revelation of the disgusting practices of the great meat-packing companies in putting diseased meat into their tins and distributing it for sale all over the country. “ The book was an immediate and enormous success,” states Mr Floyd Dell. “It became a best-seller in America, England, and the British colonies. It was translated into seventeen languages, and the world became aware that industrial America in its toil, its misery, and its hope had found a voice. But the literary sensation m America was secondary to the shock of its readers in learning of the conditions under which their meats were prepared in Packingtown, not as affecting the workers but as affecting their own health—for the story dealt incidentally with the use of condemned meat. The author later remarked that he had aimed at the public’s heart, and/ by accident had hit it in tne stomach. His deepest concern had been with the fate of the workers, and he realised with bitterness that he had become a celebrity not because the public cared anything about the workers, but because it did not want to cat diseased meat.” HE MADE THE NOVEL “ The medieval word for a poet was a maker, which indeed is the original meaning of a poet,” writes Mr Chesterton. . “ There was never a man who was more of a maker than Chaucer. He made a national language, he came very near to making a nation. At least without him it would probably never have been either so line a language or so great a nation. Shakespeare and Milton were the greatest sons of their country; but Chaucer was the lather of his country, rather in the style ot George Washington. “ And apart from that, he made something that has altered all Europe more than the newspaper: the novel. He was a novelist when there were no novels, I mean by the novel the narrative that is not primarily an anecdote or an allegory, but is valued because of the almost accidental variety ot actual human characters. The prologue of ‘The Canterbury Tales is the prologue of modern fiction. “It is the preface to ‘ Don Quixote and the preface to ‘Gil Bias.’ The astonishing thing is not so much that an Englishman did this as that Englishmen hardly ever brag about it. Nobody waves a Union Jack and cries, ‘ England made jolly stories for the whole earth.’ “It is-not too much to say that Chaucer made not only a new nation but a new world; and was none the less its real maker because it is an unreal world. And he did it in a language that was hardly usable until he used it. . ■ • “ I know not why the people who are so silent about this go about glorying in the fact of having painted lasmania red in an atlas or introduced the golf of Tooting to the upper classes ot Turkey. .. .” Here is a fine passage in Mr Chesterton’s best style:— “What a man learns from ‘Borneo and Juliet,’ ” he says, “ is not a new theory of sex; it is the mystery ot something much more than what sensualists call sex, and what cads call sex appeal. What he learns from ‘ Romeo and Juliet ’ is not to call first love * calf love ’; not to call even fleeting love a flirtation; but to understand that these things, which''a million vulgarians have vulgarised, are not vulgar. , , “The groat poet exists to show the small man how great he is. A man does not learn from 1 Hamlet.’ a new motnod of psycho-analysis, or the proper treatment of lunatics. What he learns is not to despise the soul as small; even when rather feminine critics say that the will is weak. As if the will were ever strong enough for the tasks that confront it in this world. The great poet is alone strong enough to measure that broken strength we call the weakness of man.” BURGLARS’ CHOICE NOVEL COMPETITION Last December burglars broke into a bookshop at Beigate, JLondon, and stole complete sets of works by Hardy, Kipling, and Barrie. The nows suggested to the ‘ Observer ’ a novel competition. “If you had a similar choice, and it were a condition of the crime that you must read every word of your booty, whose complete works would you chooseP” . The selection was to be limited to five authors, and it was to bo presumed that the shop contained no copy of Shakespeare, but was otherwise of unlimited range. Many votes were recorded’ for such prolific* writers as Scott, Carlyle, H. G. Wells, and Edgar Wallace, though no competitor confessed to a desire to read the whole of Wordsworth. The stipulation that the works of each author chosen were to be road in their entirety may, however, have increased the number of votes that went to Job, Sappho, Kents, Sir Thomas Browne, and Rupert Brooke. The general vote placed Dickons. Shaw, Stevenson, Hardy, and Kipling at the head of the list, with Scott, Jane Austen, Galsworthy, Barrie, and (). Henry closely following. Both Edgar Wallace and P G. Wodebousc were strongly supported. No competitor agreed with any other regarding the whole five.

Mr Holbrook Jackson has followed up his 1 Anatomy of Bibliomania ’ with a similar work, entitled ‘ The Fear of Books,’ announced for publication in a limited edition. Chapters are included on ‘ Active and Passive Bibliophobes,’ ‘ Superstitious Bibliophobia.’ ‘ Hooks Condemned to Death,’ ‘ Poisonous Books.' and ‘ A Digression of Women Readers.’

NEW BOOKS RALPH CONNOR Mr Ralph Connor’s latest novel is a Canadian romance which will be appreciated by those who like their books of fiction to have a historical basis. It will be remembered that the wars between Britain and the United States brought fighting to Canada. In the last of these, in 1812, the Canadians were closely engaged. General Brock was the Canadian military leader. ‘ The Hock and the River ’ is constructed on the incidents connected with the fighting. The scenes are chiefly in and around Quebec. The. hero, Red Rory, of mixed Highland and habitant (person of French descent) ancestry, is a patriotic Canadian, a born leader, and a romantic figure. He is a man full of verve and courage, and is as ardent in the lists of love as on the battleground. The history attached to the settlement of a new country is of perennial interest, and none has more magic about it than Canada, with its immense forests, mighty rivers, and mountains, forming the background in which Indians, French, Americans, and British engaged at intervals in desperate struggles for mastery, The in this book is swift, and the characterisation strong. The publishers of ‘J he Rock and the River ’ are the Bodley Head, London-. Our copy is from Whitcombo and Tombs Limited. A SPARKLING AUTOBIOGRAPHY As sparkling as a glass of champagne after the flat, insipid, modern biographies, with their nauseating after-effects, is ‘ Merrily I Go to Hell.’ The title suggests lurking spiciness, or perhaps veiled pornography, particularly as the title states, parenthetically, ‘ Reminiscences of a Clergyman’s Daughter.’ yet it is one or the cleanest, most refreshing, and rollicking autobiographies that has appeared for many a day. Book Society recommendations often carry little influence, but ‘Merrily 1 Go’ is fully entitled to the support accorded it by the society. For somewhat obvious reasons the author uses pseudonym. Her story is one of zest for life and adventure, without any harrowing details of the shadier side of life. ‘ Aly family history is dull and conventional, she writes as a foreword. “No one has done anything exceptional except my youngest brother. I have just heaid from him that he has run away from his law school and has become a ‘ cop in Norwich. The rest of my family have always been Army, Navy, church, diplomats, ambassadors, and other things not worthy of mention. My father is at 'present a rector and a canon. Ho was for a time head mastei of College, and put in a little time at Gaol (as prison chaplain). My great-uncle was a baronet, and died of delirium 'tremens.* 1 And she follows in the same breezy style throughout her life-story. Her sparkling personality is always dominant from the days of school, with its ultimate expulsion, through the war, and later as an actress. ‘ Merrily 1 Go to Hell is a tonic. George Allen and Unwin (Lon-‘ don) are the publishers. ' KRISHNAMURTf' ‘ Krishnamurti the Man. and His Message,' by Lilly Heber. —This book is interesting because Krishnamurti is a man of ideas, and his teaching is critically reviewed by the author, who states that the teaching is being dealt with at present all over the world in newspapers, magazines, and even books. His personal influence seems to be increasing, and his teachings are likely to have a far-reaching effect. Above all, the author points out his ideas are appealing to those circles and individuals who are to-day seeking a solution of problems that are personal, or world-wide. At first Mr Krishnainurti had been handicapped by hostility. which was largely due to the extravagant claims made for him by theosephists. But thpt was now past, and since 1927 he seemed to have become more impressive, though retaining his facile use of simple words. From a perusal of his books, poems, and published ‘ talks,’ the keynote of Air Krisbnamurti’s teaching might be summed up in one sentence; Within the consciousness of every individual there is an inexhaustible source of creative thought and spiritual power, the realisation of which brings personal liberation, truth, and an unceasipg joyousness of life. The author quotes appreciations of Air Krishnamurti by authors, artists, and others in various countries. Not the least notable of these is a tribute by Air George Lansbury, the Labour Leader in the House of Commons. The book is published by Alessrs George Allen and Unwin Ltd. JEFFERY FARNOL In ‘ Voices From the Dust ’ (Macmillan) Air Jeffery Farnol has adopted an ingenious plan. Beginning with the days of the Roman occupation, ho takes ns down the centuries by means of a series of thirteen episodes in England. He gives a vivid picture of the manners and customs of the time, each tale being placed in a romantic sotting. London holds the centre of the stage, and the incidents recorded move round Westminster Abbey, the Tower, Whitehall, the Thames, Whitofriars, Smithfield, and Hyde Park. Love and fighting, strong men and beautiful distressed damsels fill the pages of the bool:, which is written in the typical Farnol manner. Air Faniol has many enthusiastic readers, ami they will appreciate this chronicle of events which Is not actually true so far as names and incidents are concerned, yet gives a clear picture of the conditions that prevailed in past centuries and the manner of the adventures that fell to the adventurous. THE NORTHERN TRAILS ‘ Pawns and Kings ’ is a series of short stories by “ Seamark ” (Hodder and Stoughton). They are tales of the northern trails, of the grim, forbidding fastnesses stretching away to the Andie. They relate the adventures of tin; strong men who seek profit or excitement j n the vast frozen wastes

where the call is for every ounce of strength and every particle of courage that the men of our race possess. Noble women, too, follow their menfolk up into these harsh regions, and bear with uncomplaining heroism the hardships inseparable from their lives in the new environment. “ Seamark ” invests his stories with reality. His characters are convincing, .and beside a good fire on those winter evenings the reader can follow with sympathising interest the fortunes of those who blaze the trail in the icy outposts of Empire. MURDER AND REVENGE When writing a “ thriller ” Sefton Kyle believes in no half measures, and in ‘ The Vengeance of Mrs Danvers ’ you get full value for your money. The story starts off with John Eddis being found guilty for the murder of Henry Shrader, around whose neck at the time of his death was known to be the Great Kabul, diamond of fabulous worth, which is now missing. _ Eddis is rescued on Ids way to Brixton prison by a gang of criminals lead by Mrs Danvers, and he lauds from the frying pan into the fire, as the gang believes ho has the diamond, and Mrs Danvers wants him for revenge, for the murdered man was her son. From then on there are thrills on every page. It is, the wrapper slates, “ one of the most exciting and bizarre talcs of mad revenge ever written.” This cannot be denied. Messrs Herbert Jenkins Ltd. are the publishers. ‘ART IN HEW ZEALAND' The Juno number of ‘ Art In New Zealand ’ is to hand. This quarterly continues to merit whole-hearted support from those who are interested in the cultural aspects of life. In the letterpress there is an article on Mr Archibald Nicoll and his work, with some excellent illustrations in black and colour "of bis skill. Three portraits—one being of Lady Stout—are fine examples of this branch of painting. Mr Nicoll is so well known here that this number will have special interest to Dunedin people. As usual, the magazine contains numerous poems and articles on a variety of topics, and reviews and criticisms on art and literary subjects. ‘ Art In New Zealand ’ has been established for four years. It is gratifying that its efforts to encourage the love of literature and art in all its forms has met with such a measure of success, and it is sincerely to be hoped that the support accorded to it in the past will be continued. The magazine is certainly doing valuable work. MAGAZINES The ‘ B.P. Magazine’ for June contains interesting matter in great variety. Naturally, being published by a shipping firm it contains much about travel in foreign lands. It cannot be regarded as propaganda, however, for each article is written by men of literary ability who have made a close study of the lands they write about. ‘ The Real Maoriland,’ in which the Waikato natives figure largely, is ably written and finely illustrated. Other parts of the world are described with easy facility. Art. literature, the stage, and the glass of fashion, and many other of the world’s activities are included in the scope of the magazine. ‘Frontier' is an English journal in which short stories dealing with adventures in various parts of the Empire, are featured. A staff of competent writers contribute to the May number, and the tales will be enjoyed by men whoso day for such strenuous and exciting incidents is past and by those who are young and feel the call of the wild places of the earth. The June number of ■ Life ’ contains, as usual, a varied assortment of excel-, lent reading matter. There is a useful review of current affairs the world over and a wide selection of stories, articles on various topics, and verse. Mr J. H. Kirkwood writes on ‘ Better Golf,’ a contribution which is sure to be appreciated. NOTES Mr Hugh Kinsmill has written a life of the late Frank Harris, whose biography of Bernard Shaw, published last year, created a sensation. The hook will be published by Jonathan Cape. The ‘ Memoirs of R. H. Bruce Lockhart,’ announced by Putnam, will give frank first-hand descriptions of L’enin and Trotsky in 1918, and an intimate revelation of the author’s own picturesque personality and career. Since writing ‘ Beneath Tropic Seas,’ Dr William Beebe has been conducting scientific researches in the Bermudas, and the results will bo given in a new volume to be published by Putnam with the title ‘ Nonsuch Island.’ ‘ Three on Four Wheels ’ is the title of a new book by W. R. Calvert, of ‘ Sorrowstones ’ fame. It tells of a motor tour of discovery through England and Wales, and will be published by Putnam.

‘ Swinburne; A Literary Biography,’ by Dr Georges Lafourcadc, will be published shortly. The large collection of Swinburniana in the possession of Mr H. T. Wise and others has enabled the biographer to introduce much now material.

‘ The Vats of Tyre,’ by Mr Roy Bridges, has been translated into Irish, and will be published under authority of the Free State Ministry of Education. This book was written when Mr Bridges was a university student, and revised about twelve years ago. It was published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1921, and has been translated into Dutch.

Sir Charles Mallet, who recently wrote a memoir on Lord Cave, is at present completing one on Lord Gladstone. He was Herbert, William Ewart Gladstone’s youngest son, and he inherited some of his father’s gifts. Lord Gladstone was in the thick of Liberal politics and methodical in keeping his papers. Sir Charles Mallet thus has a wealth of material with which to illustrate the politics and society of tho last fifty years.

Miss Edith Sitwell has a good subject for her poetic pen in a volume about Bath. Her first chapter is a description of Beau Nash arriving in Bath on the occasion of Queen Anne’s visit. “It is very fantastic,” says Miss Sitwell, adding; “Ho was then a gambler.” Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Pope, Addison, Pitt, Walpole. and Smollett are other famous characters who come into Miss Sitwell’s picture.

Amongst the numerous hooks on Goethe which the centenary of his death is calling forth none has really superseded the late Professor Plume Brown’s ‘ Life of Goethe. 1 the result of many years’ devoted study, which Uoops its place as the standard life of the poet, ft is sane, sound, and

scholarly, and an admirable guide for anyone who desires to know what manner of man Goethe was and what was the message of his work. Viscount Haldane writes a prefatory note.

Robert Bridges will rank as one of the English Poets Laureate who arc greater in death than in office. His vogue with readers has steadily widened since ho gave up his last ' Testament of Beauty.’ Also bis fine quality as a prose writer is taking hold, thanks in some measure to the reprinting of his essays in a collected form by the Oxford Press. Dante, Emily Bronte, Dryden, and Milton are all discussed in a forthcoming volume.

The Scottish celebration of the centenary of the death of Sir Walter Scott began in Glasgow in April with the production of a chronicle play written round the life and works of the writer. The general celebration is of the centenary year rather than of the actual date of Scott’s death, September 21. and the commemoration is spread over a wide period. During tins month there will be a pilgrimage to Loch Katrine, and another pilgrimage will be made to Douglas Castle and Tilliotndlem. There will also be a national pilgrimage to Dryburgh in September.

Mr Walter llackham, the veteran illustrator, has written an article upon the craft of illustrating books. According to Mr llackham, it is not always possible for the illustrator to follow his text closely. As an example of tho difficulties sometimes arising he recalls Phiz’s illustration of the incident in ‘ David Copperfield ’ in which David introduces himself to his aunt. Tho book specifically declares that Betsy Trotwood sat down flat upon the path at that astonishing moment, and so, under Dickens’s direction, “Phiz” first depicted her, but the author perceived that this would never do, and the drawing was replaced by one in which Betsy’s astonishment was expressed in a different manner.

Mr Basil Blackwell, according to his latest work. ‘The World ol Books,’ does not think highly of English criticism :■ —“The decay of criticism is due to various causes; the exceeding number of new books inviting review; tho exiguous remuneration of many reviewers; the fact that money speaks through advertisement with a louder voice than honest criticism. One wishes that the advertisement manager handled less money and tho critics more. Too many, perforce, are plnralists; too many, 1 fear, meet as reviewers books which they have already appraised in MS: and too many works of genius are acclaimed from week to week which are soon and properly forgotten. Our critics have the talent, but, so to speak, their talent is wrapped up in a newspaper.”